Miles is 1!

Miles turned 1 on January 3rd and I didn't even cry. :) His birthday was on Kate's birthday party night but don't worry, he still had cake and a bunch of little 9 year old girls to sing Happy Birthday to him.

1 year ago

1 year old

He is a climber and loves to climb up on this chair. 

His other favorite activity is to put on these hulk gloves and box. I am not kidding. It's hilarious!

Kate is 9!

Kate's birthday was on December 22nd! She had a spend the night party on January 3rd which also was Miles' s first birthday. It was a very exciting and fun filled day. I never imagined that I would have a spend the night party because they are not my thing. However, we had a great time.

The best part of the night was the comment we overheard, "Kate's dad is actually funny!" Not surprisingly, Rick is open to have many more spend the night parties. :)

 Eating Pizza

Here are 4 of the 8 Rainbow Looms we had in our house that night.

I think she was having fun!

The gang. :)

Jack is 4!

I can't believe our Jack is 4 today!! He brings much joy and laughter into our home. He seems to always be smiling which is so sweet - I love his little dimple. He is a great brother and still adores baby Miles. He loves to dress up like Spiderman and I'm pretty sure he has worn his costume half of the days in the last 3 months. The only birthday present request he had was his own box of cereal - Coco Puffs- and don't worry, he got it! :) He told me today that he was a big boy now like Henry but that Sims and Miles were still little boys. He said he could help me now when I need a strong man. :)

 His name means "God is gracious" and we pray he will always love and be thankful for the Lord's grace and mercy in his life. We pray he will always know how much we love him and are thankful for him. We pray he will know and remember that God is faithful and good; that He keeps His promises and that His promises are everlasting. We pray that He will have a family that He can point to Christ and that we will have the privilege to see that. We pray the Lord will equip Him, comfort Him, encourage Him, and instruct Him throughout His life. We pray his heart will be transformed and His mind renewed by God's word. Even at a young age, Jack profess faith in Christ and we pray we will see the fruit of his confession. We pray for his purity and that he will have godly desires. We pray he will have a long life and that we will have an eternity together in Heaven.

Henry is 6!!!

Today is Henry's 6th birthday!! He is our 3rd child and our first son. He is a joy and a treasure and I am grateful for the six years that we have had with him. He has a kind heart and regularly prays that everyone who doesn't know the Lord will know Him and worship Him. He prays for his younger brothers and always thanks the Lord for everyone in our family by name. He is quick to give up being the first to do or get something so that a brother or sister can go before Him. He has been a joy to teach this year because he is always ready to learn-he remembers anything once he hears it. He and Claire are still the best of friends and he is a good big brother to his little following. Our prayer for Henry is that He will continue to exercise the faith the Lord has given him. That the Lord will strengthen and grip him and prepare him for the work he has/will be called to. We pray the Lord will bless him with a family that he can lead and point to Christ. That he will not just be a "good" boy but that He will abide in the Lord and that his heart will always be turned towards Christ. We pray the Lord will strengthen him in purity in this world in which we live. We pray he will love God's law, meditate on it, and he transformed by it. We are thankful, grateful, and abundantly blessed to be his parents.

Potty Training 101 :)

I have a friend expecting her first child next year (yay!) and she asked about how we potty train our children. We potty trained  Kate/Sims at 23 months, Claire at 22 months, Henry at 21 months, and Jack at 20 months. I did not find that there was any difference between boys and girls "getting" it.

Here's what we do:

1. I plan a time where I can be home for 3 days and I do not leave the house until they "get it". I always start on a Monday.

2. On Monday morning, the child goes straight to underwear. No pull-ups. The kids do wear diapers at nap and at night for awhile.

3. I give the child plenty to drink. They need practice learning what the sensation feels like.

4. I take the child to the bathroom every 10-15 mins. It's exhausting, really. The hardest part is when I take them to the bathroom and they sit there for 10 mins, get up, and tee-tee all over the floor. AHHHHHH!!!!! I just have to remember that they are learning! :) I DO tell them firmly that tee-tee goes in the potty, not of the floor. Hey-it's weird saying that to y'all but that's what I say.

5. I've used a baby potty for most of the kids but I did not use it with Sims. I just sat him on the toilet and he was fine.

6. I've told Rick EVERY TIME after the first day that the child is not getting it and I wonder if I should just try again when they are 7. Thankfully, he knows I do this and encourages me to keep going. Each child has had between 10-20 accidents the first day. Well, everyone except for Sims. He only had about 5-this makes him my favorite child. :) Kidding!

7. Everyone has gotten it either the 2nd or 3rd day. At this point, I do leave the house for extra practice. I  take them to the bathroom before we leave and when we arrive where we are going.

I don't really do "rewards." Kate did request chapstick a couple of times and Jack wanted MMs but I wasn't consistent with them. That's probably a fun thing to do, I'm just not crafty enough to make a chart and get everything organized.

That's about it. The rest of the week I continue to stretch out the time between bathroom trips. I continue to suggest to the child that they go to the bathroom for a couple of weeks and by then, they can tell me when they need to go. It is a very hard few days but then the work is done! I know many people who wait until their child is 3 or so and then may have an easier time of it; I've just always liked to get it done.

Any other questions about this I forgot to answer? If you have other/different tips for my friend, just leave a comment!